Microcircuit cards which are also known as microchip or SIM cards are of a size and shape that is generally defined by industry standards. Typically the standard formats used are ID-000 formats which are used mainly for mobile telephone operator subscriber identification cards, known as SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) cards or plug in SIM cards in the case, for example, of USIM (Universal Subscriber Identification Module) cards. Other formats used are ID-1 format cards (derived from ISO Standard 7810) which are used for bank cards and credit cards, for example.
The manufacturing costs of ID-000 cards are usually much lower than for ID-1 format cards as there is less material that is used to make the card and less area to be printed on. However, ID-000 cards are very small, especially if they are to be inserted into a mobile communication device such as a mobile telephone. This means that the handling of ID-000 cards per se can be difficult. As a consequence, ID-000 cards are often incorporated in a carrier card which is generally of the size and shape of an ID-1 card, which are designed to be routinely handled by individuals and so they provide a good supporting carrier body for ID-000 cards. When there is a card which is comprised of a SIM card of an ID-000 format where the microcircuit card is precut into an ID-1 format card body, a user can either use the ID-1 card by inserting it into a reader or the ID-000 format microcircuit card can be removed from the carrier ID-1 card body and inserted into a mobile device, for example, a mobile telephone.
Currently a SIM card is incorporated in within the body of a support card, for example the periphery of the ID-000 card is bounded by the carrier card. This provides a secure construct for supporting the card. However, as the card is bounded on all four sides, it can be sometimes difficult to remove the ID-000 card from the carrier, especially as the ID-000 card is itself small and needs careful handling.
Carrier cards have been made where there are lines of weakness surrounding the ID-000 card, for example as described in US2007/0108294 where there carrier card is formed in several parts joined together, but again the ID-000 card is bordered by the parts that make up the carrier card and so there is still the difficulty of cleanly removing the ID-000 card from the ID-1 card.
The present invention seeks to overcome the problems associated with the prior art by providing a microcircuit card that can be easily and cleanly detached from a carrier card. Furthermore the invention seeks to provide a microcircuit card and carrier that is easy to manufacture using a novel tool to make the card and carrier.